Oklahoma may seem like an unlikely setting for the
beginning of a political thriller, but it's here that a
tragedy occurs in the form of an attempted assassination on
the President of the United States. While President Blake
addresses a crowd on the 10-year anniversary of the bombing
of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City,
shots ring out. Secret Service agents and the FBI scramble
to protect the President and dignitaries and contain the
chaos.
When the smoke clears, many are dead and wounded. Junior
Oklahoma Senator Ben Kincaid is among the slightly injured,
but he finds that his best friend, who took a huge risk to
save others, is in critical condition. Stunningly, the
First Lady is dead. In the emotional aftermath that ensues,
the President emerges, grief-stricken yet composed, with a
piece of legislation set to target the very civil liberties
that Americans enjoy as part of being an American. It's a
step above and beyond the Patriot Act, and while many
support this bill against terrorism, there are others who
realize it's akin to thinly disguised martial law.
Kincaid finds himself an unlikely candidate to lead a
charge of this kind in the Senate, being singled out by the
President to publicly endorse this new Constitutional
amendment. Kincaid struggles with balancing his emotions
and making rational decisions. He wrestles with his
conscience and with his Chief of Staff, his own wife
Christina, who does not support the bill. Christina is
actually suspicious of those who are pushing so hard to get
it through the Senate. With the force of the President's
strong emotional play on the people -- do it for the First
Lady and stop the terrorism -- Christina launches her own
investigation when she begins to suspect this may have been
a plot initiated on American soil, solely to drive the
legislation. What she uncovers is astonishing.
This is a fast-paced, well-written, intelligent, witty
thriller. It moves quickly and steadily and brings together
numerous colorful characters and subplots quite well.
Bernhardt, a former trial attorney himself, pens some
impressive dialogue from the senators as they take the
floor to debate the controversial amendment and posture for
the press. If you liked the harried political pace and
intellectual dialogue of the television drama West
Wing, you will thoroughly enjoy this book. And if you
love a good mystery and a well-constructed, intriguing,
conspiracy theory, then this one is for you. I found
CAPITOL CONSPIRACY to be a thrilling, thought-provoking
read with the bonus of interesting insight into the
workings of the American political process.
Oklahoma defense attorney Ben Kincaid has found himself
smack in the middle of more than a few controversies and
deadly predicaments – and the unexpected leap from his
modest Tulsa law offices to Washington, D.C.’s Senate
chamber hasn’t taken the edge off Ben’s knack for stepping
into the line of fire. Now the idealistic junior senator
is plunged into the thick of lethal intrigue when a
shocking campaign of terror against key government
officials rocks the nation’s capital.
The nightmare
begins with the abduction and murder of the director of
Homeland Security; escalates with the killing of the
Senate minority leader, who is felled in his office by an
envelope laced with weaponized poison; and comes to a
shattering climax at the site of the Oklahoma City
Memorial, where a fusillade of sniper fire meant for the
president claims unintended victims. In all, twelve people
perish in the melee, while Ben himself narrowly escapes a
car-bomb blast that leaves his best friend, Tulsa cop Mike
Morelli, comatose. But the smoke has barely cleared when
the stunned nation is sent reeling yet again by the
president’s impassioned call to amend the U.S.
Constitution with an antiterrorism law that would
drastically curtail civil liberties.
It’s a hot-
button issue guaranteed to bitterly divide the Beltway and
the country. The chief executive has handpicked Ben to
help harvest the support that will make the amendment a
reality. Shaken by the carnage,
Ben embraces the
president’s radical cause, and alongside unlikely new
political allies he takes the battle for the controversial
bill to the Senate floor. But he can’t ignore his growing
suspicion that what’s haunting Capitol Hill isn’t the
specter of foreign terrorism but something much closer to
home. Now, with his ever-resourceful chief of staff – his
wife, Christina – and along with his support team backing
his play, Ben sets squares off against what could be the
most dangerous Goliath he’s ever challenged.
Capitol
Conspiracy is a bravura William Bernhardt performance–
bursting into action on the very first page, and crackling
with breathless suspense, sharp wit, crafty twists, and
timely thrills clear through to the last.
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